Little Iraq

I have two cousins that live in Iraq. Sara is 15 years old and Dani is 13. They both live in the al-Yarmouk district of Baghdad, which locals have christened “the streets of death” due to the constant attacks and random violence that plagues the area. So they live in the epicenter of the war, basically. What was once a prosperous middle-class area has become a semideserted pile of carcasses. With this in mind, I called them up to see how they were doing.


ice: How has your life changed since the Americans arrived?

Sara: Well every morning I used to be picked up by the school bus, which stops outside our house in the morning. It’s only a 15-minute walk but it isn’t safe. These days I’m not going to school anymore at all.

Why not?

Dani: It’s not safe. Last time I went to school, hardly any of the other students were there. Eventually, less and less people started turning up. Everyone is scared that they will be killed accidentally or held for ransom.

Back before the Americans came, getting around this area was much easier. You could go home with friends, or if your school was close you could walk by yourself. Now everything has to be planned. You can’t just go home with friends or walk around. We only go out if we really need to.

What about you, Sara?

Sara: Before the invasion, I attended Baghdad’s School for Music and Ballet. I had to leave soon after all the sectarian violence started. My family got scared because I was about to be 14 and they thought something might happen to me. A lot of people think dancing is haram. That means unholy and not allowed by God. This was very painful for me because I loved dancing and doing it in your house isn’t the same. I had to start going to normal school.

Dani: These people have taken a lot from us.

Sara: Almost everything.

Who do you blame?

Sara: The Americans. We thought they were going to free us from the militias and all the people who are doing the killing. It’s disgusting to abuse your own people for money and power but now we are used to it. Saddam abused us and now our own people are abusing each other.

Do you miss normal life?

Sara: I miss my friends

Dani: Me too. It’s difficult to see anybody outside school.

Do you think that the amount of people being abducted is exaggerated, and some of the things you hear are just rumors generated by fear?

Sara: No, not at all. Everyone knows someone who has been held ransom by a militia. Kidnappings are commonplace. Sometimes when you are walking on the street or in a car, you will see a car pull up to someone and men will get out and bundle him in. You can’t say or do anything because they will kill you.

A few months ago, a girl at my school was snatched from her father as they went home. She was 13. I didn’t know her and I wasn’t at school when it happened, but the next day everyone was talking about how her father was on the ground, begging and pleading with them to give her back, and they wouldn’t. These armed gunmen shoved her in the car and demanded a ransom of $2,000. That’s a lot of money now.

Do you know if they gave her back?

Sara: Yeah, three days later her father paid the ransom. She was unharmed, but that isn’t always the case. I didn’t see her at school again.

So when you were at school were you ever scared that you were going to be bombed?

Dani: Of course. We know in Baghdad that when we leave the house there is a big chance we won’t return home alive.

Sara: A few bombs have blown up near my school.

What happened?

Sara: Two were car bombs. The other was a huge explosion on an office block near by.

Was anyone harmed at your school?

Sara: The last explosion caused all the windows to shatter and fall in on us. It was so loud and powerful that it made the building we were in shake. Everyone was screaming, crying, and jumping under their desks. But I was laughing.

Why?

Sara: Because it was exciting. I couldn’t help it. I was screaming but not like the rest of them. It was fun. I was jumping around after it happened. Everyone was crying.

So it’s fun to get bombed?

Sara: No, I don’t mean it like that. It was fun like when you go on a roller coaster.

Have you ever even been on a roller coaster?

Sara: No. I’ve seen it on film. I would really like to go on a roller coaster. I think it’s probably the same feeling as the bomb. I want to do a bungee jump as well. My uncle did it in England a few years ago and gave me a tape of it.

Dani, have you ever been close to an explosion?

Dani: Yes, lots of times.

What happened?

Dani: A month ago I was very lucky I wasn’t injured. I was at my friend Hassan’s house. The Americans were outside on the streets standing around. Hassan’s older cousin told us to take some drinks out to them because it was so hot. Earlier on that day, Hassan and I climbed a tree and were throwing unripe dates at two of the soldiers. It was so funny because it took them so long to work out where it was coming from. It was our fault we got caught. We couldn’t stop laughing and one of them heard us as we scrambled down the trunk.

What did he do?

Dani: He ran after us.

For throwing dates at them?

Dani: He was just playing. It doesn’t matter. That’s not the story anyway. When we took the drinks out to them, Hassan and I wanted to take his cousin’s dog out with us. Then there was a loud bang where six Americans were standing down the road from us. One was on the ground. Hassan and I ran toward the house. At this point grenades were falling behind us. That was scary as hell and I really thought I was going to die. I wanted to scream but something just came over me, and we just ran. I was surprisingly calm. I’d never run so fast before that, but I have since. These attacks are getting closer and closer. As we ran we heard a car bomb go off. The militia had surrounded the Americans with the car bomb and the grenades. The fighting lasted for an hour.

So now that you don’t go to school, what do you do all day?

Sara: I still have to study like I would if I were at school. My mum and dad make me.

Dani: Yeah, me too. I study and maybe have a nap in the afternoon because it gets so hot. Sometimes I play football.

When was the last time you guys went to a party or something?

Sara: I can’t remember. It’s been so long since I’ve seen my school friends, let alone gone to a party.

Dani: I went to a party a month ago. It was a girl in my class’s 14th birthday. I only went because my friend likes her. It wasn’t a real party though. There was some music and a bit of dancing, but not like before. You can tell all the parents are on edge and really scared. They all stayed at the house with us because they were too frightened to leave their children.

What were parties in Baghdad like before the war?

Dani: Not all of the parents would stay, and you could do what you wanted. We would put on loud music and have water fights and run around the streets.

Sara: Birthday parties used to be really special occasions. Everyone would get dressed up in their best clothes and go to a restaurant and then maybe do karaoke.

So are you guys going to stay in Iraq?

Sara: No. We are leaving Iraq. This situation is death. Every day a neighbour or someone we know is forced to leave their homes by the militia. It will probably happen to us if we stay.

Dani: I’m really sad to leave, but there is no other choice.

INTERVIEWED BY ZEENA ZAKARIA